This is the last Sunday before the General Election on November 6, 2012. In America, we separate Church from State. But why? At one time we separated Church from State to protect religious freedom. We did not want government officials establishing their own religious preferences by law. But now? Now it seems that we now separate the Church from the State to keep any hint of religious belief out of public life.

Should we separate the State from the Church? Why would we want to do that? Consider some of the issues we debate.

Capital Punishment? Don’t we punish lawbreakers because they sin when the violate the rights of another? Isn’t the nature of this debate whether we have the God-given right to punish a murderer with death?

Education? Don’t parents have a moral obligation to educate their children? Doesn’t the Bible require parents to bring up children in the Christian faith?

Charity? Don’t we each have a moral obligation to love our neighbor and to help our neighbor in time of need? Don’t we point to the Bible to explain this obligation? But what is charity? When government takes money from a “rich” citizen and gives it to a “poor” citizen is that stealing or is it charity?

The Definition of Marriage. Government licenses our marriages. Nevertheless, marriage is an institution which predates government and most people have a religious ceremony. Given that, how should we define marriage? Who should do it? Who has already done it?

And so forth.

What is the point here? Some would say Christianity has nothing to say about government. Yet it is because God cares about government that He gave Moses a legal system. We call it the Mosaic Law, and it is part of the Old Testament.

Are you a Christian? When we go to the polls, we must remember that how we govern ourselves is a reflection of our religious beliefs. When our nation was founded, the founders created a government anchored in Christian beliefs, that is, the Bible. Christianity is the belief system they passed onto us, hoping we would retain Christian beliefs, that as their heirs we could make a government of free men and women work.

Because so many of us have not studied the Bible, we risk failure. Many of us do not understand what the Bible teaches. Many think they do, but their knowledge is generally second hand and too shallow. Too many of us have not actually read the Bible, not even once. Nonetheless, God still holds us accountable for what we do. When we sin through our government, we still sin, and each member of the Christian clergy should know this.

Do you attend a church? When you vote, do you want to know what the Bible says about the issues we debate? Then strengthen your pastor. Please ask him to help you understand what the Bible says about politics, and don’t wait until after the next election.

Proposed Amendment to the Constitution of Virginia

A proposed constitutional amendment will also be on the November ballot

Question: Shall Section 6-A of Article X (Taxation and Finance) of the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to exempt from taxation the real property of the surviving spouse of any member of the armed forces of the United States who was killed in action, where the surviving spouse occupies the real property as his or her principal place of residence and has not remarried?